Firstly, Rosie1K was delighted to see that your numbers have doubled they keep on doubling.

For all of you that replied regarding my progesterone thank you. I have had a complete meltdown this evening. I was so delighted with my hcg level at 16dpo of 402 then to find out that my progesterone is ultra low was an instant slap in the face. After doing some Mr Googling I then read that low levels are indicative of miscarriage (again) or ectopic (again) and I saw this pregnancy being yet again short lived and ending in disaster.

I still don't really know where I am but Penny has emailed me back and said to try my best not to worry and that she is not worried. I have obviously started on the prontogest and am clearly hoping for the best but to say I am panicked is probably understatement of the year, but then we are all well versed in that on here. I know you will understand ladies I'm so sorry for unloading. I just feel so mixed up and just, well, plain scared.

Penny did say, btw, that with one of her own pregnancies her progesterone level was 1.5. So that made me feel a (little) bit better.

Agate - the conversion for nmol/litre to ng/ml is to divide by 3.18 not multiply - I think this is what it says in your section on progesterone in your immunes faq (or that is how I read it anyway - but bear in mind I was in blind panic mode at the time).

I'm shattered, and off to bed. Sorry no more personals and sorry again for the me post yet again.

Sarah, hope you manage to sleep ok. A freind who is now 13 weeks pregnant with IVf twins had a real low prog levels about same time as you (was in 20's) and Dr. G started her on prog injections and cyclogest and both babies are doing great xxx

Sarahh - hi honey just thought I'd let you know my progesterone level was at 24.9 on my first blood test and only went up to 29.9 on second so Penny put me on prontogest injections daily for three weeks and all is now good and I have stopped taking them, so don't worry honey.

Joe71, I totally understand how you're feeling when your body doesn't play ball. I was supposed to go for my baseline scan last week but AF never showed up. I've been going a little mad and Penny has said to come over anyway and we'll do a scan and blood testing to see what is going on. It's frustrating isn't it when you think you know your dates and plans and it doesn't happen. Fingers crossed it all gets sorted out for you.

So, I'm flying Wed morning to finally meet the famous Penny. Can't wait! Have booked the President (74EUR) because the Alex was quoting over 200EUR for a room - is something special going on on Wednesday?

Mandypandy - great that so many embies are still going strong. I'm sure Penny will be proved right and despite a bit of fragmentation you will have a fee lovely blasts to put back on Weds. The extra time means you are getting the BEST possible embies to transfer. These poor embies being judged on "imperfect body shapes at only a few days old" ...if they're girlies they'd. Ether get used to it

Ekitten - thinking of you x

SarahH and Rosie - great that hcg levels are looking good for you both..the prog issue is easier to fix than slow rising hcg so hope you can focus on the positives when you're feeling nervous x

Blue - gosh that's an early ultrasound - what will they be able to see?

Thanks for all those that replied about acupuncture. And for those that PM'd me about it...just collating my thoughts!

My donor starts her tx tomorrow ..it's weird not to have the "night before tx nerves" this time round. Just wish I knew exactly when we needed to go over..but that's me ..like to be in control

Hope those with unusual cycles this month have good news on their scans and can get cracking with tx soon

Lieve and Agate Ė hi, thanks for all the useful info on Letrozole. May I ask if either of you know whether this may also help those of us with PID? (Iím never sure whether endometriosis and PID are the same thing, or whether one is a subset of the other, or whether theyíre different altogether Ö. After my lap, my doc said I had PID but not endo, though Iíve read that some doctors donít distinguish between them?)

Hi sofagirl, it is not really that Letrozole helps against a disease, it is mainly used in cases where women have repeated RIF (Recurring Implantation Failure) and RPL (Recurring Pregnancy Loss). It is thought that most of those women have endometriosis probably, even if it hasn't always been (correctly) diagnosed and even if some women don't even have symptoms or only have it mildly. I see you have already done a laproscopy and it may well be you had PID because of f.ex. Hidden C. There are various reasons for getting PID, endometriosis and/or endo related infections is one. Are you sure it is 100% ruled out you have endo at all? Even mild endo?I have severe endo myself and I have also had PID (Pelvic Inflammation Disease), where an endo cyst got infected inside my ovary. I nearly died because of this in 2010, as I was incredibly sick and no AB would help (long story). I dont have Hidden C.

Lieve Ė did you decide to do the etegrity test in the end? (Or are you just assuming that your beta3 levels are low because of the endo?)

What Letrozole does for women with RIF or RPL is to correct the lack of a glue-like protein - the beta3 integrin - that women need for embryo implantation to be successful. The only way to find out whether you lack this specific protein, is to do the Etegrity test. But you can also argue that if you have RIF or RPL and also endometriosis, you are probably going to test negative for the presence of the protein in question. As I have endo + RIF, it is very likely I lack this protein. So I have convinced Penny to include Letrozole in my protocol. If your profile is more complex, it might be a good idea for you to do the Etegrity test, especially if you still could have endo. The Etegrity test is so you will have documented you lack the beta3 integrin.

Quick question to any of you who have seen Trevor Wing Ė I have an appointment with him later this week, and I canít decide whether or not to keep it. Iíd be really interested to hear of anyoneís experiences of a consult with him. Is it just the mushrooms etc. he would advise on, or is it broader in scope than that? Before Christmas Penny seemed to be recommending him to me very enthusiastically, but a couple of weeks ago when I asked her again, she suggested going straight to her man in Malaysia. Canít decide if a consult with TW will be a waste of money, and like most of you, Iím sure, we donít have the spare cash available to spend it on a whim!

I went to TW and I thought he was such a nice & knowledgeable man. He has helped many women. My case is so incredibly complicated, that he never suggested any treatment for me. It ended with that he now suggests a mushroom treatment that he admits he actually has not much experience with yet in his practice and that may or may not work. So I am not sure tbh.... But if your profile is not too complicated and you know what your issues are, he is more likely to help you - in my opinion.

I dont know what Penny is telling you to get from John in Malaysia? Is it Cordyceps? As there are other mushrooms/herbs out there for different fertility related issues, like Coriolus and Reishi or even others that are not as famous as Cordyceps etc. If it is not too difficult to get to Richmond and you would like a more specified opinion on herbal/mushroom treatments (or conventional western med), I actually think TW is a really good person to go to. Sorry if this is confusing you even more!!

Good luck xx

This post contains an unconfirmed link/information and readers are reminded that FertilityFriends.co.uk or its owners are not responsible for the content of external internet sites